Blogging Again

I never really have time to Blog, but I enjoy writing and musing about life and spiritual matters. I'm currently involved in helping teach the book of Colossians to a small group of women at an International Institute here in Monterey.

We are studying chapter 2 and I thought this was a good lead-in to me blogging again. Part of the concept here is to 'Keep Making Spiritual Progress'.

"In the Christian life, we never stand still: we either go forward or gradually slip backward." As Hebrews says, '... Let us go on to MATURITY...!' When we aren't making spiritual progress we are open to attack from the enemy. Satan is walking around like a lion seeking whom he may devour.

One of my favorite books is 'Screwtape Letters" by: C. S. Lewis. It is a fabulous look at how Satan's goal is to keep us complacent and unfocused. He recognizes that if he pushes us to far we will run to Christ, but if he just keeps us fat, dumb, and happy (on a worldly level) then we will remain that way. And, in this state be totally ineffective for the kingdom.

In order for us to battle this complacency we have to be STEADFAST in our desire to seek Christ and learn more about Him. "The Christian life is compared to a pilgrimage, and believers must learn to walk."

It is difficult to set aside worldly desires for Kingdom desires, but it is a daily challenge that all Christians must face. We must trust and lean on Christ to give us the strength. I know from personal experience that when I lean on my own strength, I fall. So, let us go forward trusting and relying on His strength to guide us and carry us through each day.

FIVE WEEKS TILL HAWAII AND CALI

It's hard to believe after 5 1/2 years in Japan and 9 1/2 years overseas that we are headed back to the states. It is with extreme mixed emotions that we leave Japan. We have loved our time here and cherished our friendships. God has blessed us beyond our wildest imaginations. We have seen and experienced things that most people will never experience in their entire lifetime. We could seriously have a reality TV show based on the Amis' adventures!


California Here We Come!
I am prepping for our 14th move since we have been married. You would think I was a pro by now and I guess by most standards I am, but I still stress and have to work hard to make things run smoothly. I have to remind myself that no amount of preparation will make everything run perfectly. So, I rest in God and His faithfulness to supply all our needs, and off we go!

This is a photo of beautiful Monterey beach. I'm thrilled to be headed that direction and seeing a part of the US that the kids and I have never seen. Also, we can hardly wait to see Mike's stomping grounds from when he was little. So much to do and see and so little time to do it all!

Stormy Week

Psalm 91:1-2

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

What a truly amazing and awesome God we serve. My week was filled with activities, prayer, and service to others. At each moment of the day I noticed something amazing. When I tried to do the work in my own strength I was exhausted and overwhelmed, but as soon as I would ask God to intervene and help me I had amazing energy and love for all the different situations going on around me. I am so thankful that He doesn't expect us to live life in our own strength. What a mess we would be in!

As Paul puts it, suffering is for us to become more like Christ, and so we will be made aware of our need of God. It also grows our faith.

Faced with the possibility of even death during his trips to Asia (which we don’t have much info on) Paul quit relying on himself and learned to rely on God. God DID rescue them from mortal danger and Paul’s faith was increased.

I pray that we will continue to rely on God for our strength. I pray that when we go through fire and trials that we will trust that God is refining us for His service and that when we make bad decisions that He will lovingly correct us and that we will continue in His service.

Praying Praying Praying

James 1:2-4

2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

I feel like I have been down on my knees for days, asking God to intercede on my friends' behalves. There are seasons in life where you feel spiritual darkness more than other times. I don't know if it is just living in Japan and being a foreigner that makes it seem more intense, but for whatever reason right now it is very intense. There are so many battles and struggles going on around me that really need deep prayer. God is a God of answers and I am praying for answers for my friends and for myself.

I love to talk and share any wisdom that I have gained from my own life that might help someone else, but sometimes there just aren't words for the pain that someone else is going through. As I'm writing this a flood of situations surrounding me are coming to mind. I wish I had all the answers and I could make it all better, but I can't.

God is truly the author of our lives and while I don't believe he causes harm to us, I do believe he allows things to happen to refine us for his glory and for our work in this world. Lately I have felt like sifted wheat. There was a great analogy in my study this week on Daniel. It talked about how God allowed King Nebuchadnezzar to become like a great tree providing for everyone with fruit and shelter. However, the King still didn't recognize the one true God as the author of his life and God took him down to a stump. He protected that stump and wouldn't let any harm come to it except what was good for building him back up to be fruitful and serve God.
I think that's what he does with us sometimes. He is taking us to a stump where we can only rely on Him to grow us back into the kind of children God wants us to be.

One of the hardest things for me right now is to be vulnerable in my prayers. How do you say, 'Your will be done' when death is involved? How do you trust when it comes down to precious relationships and precious lives? These are the questions I have had to ask God and even through asking Him I know my heart still says ' Your will be done'. I know He is perfect and His will is perfect. The Bible tells us to make our requests known to God and He will answer them. So, I am requesting on my knees and asking for His grace and mercy, but ultimately... YOUR WILL BE DONE!